real food, real cooking, real kung fu

Duck Again

Just a follow up to my duck post a while back. My first attempt at the duck (which I proudly helped process right on the farm) was roasting it in the oven. It tasted great if you were willing to chew it for a couple of hours. Since we were not willing to do that, I tried it this time in the crock pot.

First I sliced up some white potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions and garlic (all local, either CSA or farmer’s market scores) and covered the bottom of the crock with the slices, then poured on about half a cup of chicken stock (home made, of course!). I put the duck on top and it wouldn’t fit. I cut off as much of the neck as I could, rearranged the veggies and tried again. It barely fit. (Whew!) I cut up some organic carrots (sadly store bought) and stuck them around the open spaces. I topped off the bird with some Italian seasoning and let it go in the crock on low for about eight hours.

This did the trick! The duck was so tender that it literally fell off the bones. I couldn’t even get it into a dish without it falling to pieces! It was super yummy, flavorful and the veggies complemented it well. It did tend to start drying out when the skin was pulled off of it so we left the skin on as long as possible. Next time I’ll cover it with some aluminum foil right away to help retain moisture.

Test subject Bill loved it. He comments that cold duck leftovers are also delicious when dipped in Worcestershire sauce. Sweeeet!